


Hopefulness

by DrJadziaGrey



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:28:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29174907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrJadziaGrey/pseuds/DrJadziaGrey
Summary: Meredith Grey and Cormac Hayes become friends and part of each other's family.
Relationships: Meredith Grey & Cristina Yang, Meredith Grey/Cormac Hayes
Comments: 53
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! 
> 
> I am still writing Miracles do Happen, this is a different story I'm working on. Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think. 
> 
> Notes:  
> I am ignoring the covid pandemic for the purpose of this story. I personally love how they have told the story of this pandemic in the show however I cannot write the American experience of this pandemic since I have been in Australia and i also don't know when the pandemic will end and what society will be like after 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy in any way, only the story line and original characters are mine.

'Is it too much to ask? We are friends, right?' Meredith paused in her pacing and mumbling to throw her empty coffee cup in the dishwasher in the attendings' lounge before continuing. 'Or are we just work friends, because, in that case I can’t ask him to do this. I mean we do have coffee together every morning before rounds, and we have had whiskey together on Friday nights while we finish our paperwork for the two months, and we do chat like friends, but I don’t want to presume and I don’t want him to think I'm the kind of friend who asks for too much, I mean three kids is a lot, I wouldn’t normally ask someone to take them without gauging their interest first, he has his own kids though and he is a peds surgeon so I know he doesn’t hate kids, I have run out of options, I guess I will just have to ask, what’s the worst that can happen? He laughs in my face and says who would want to take care of your stupid noisy tiring burde…' 

“Grey, you ok?” Hayes calls out as he walks into the attending’s lounge seeing what appears to be Meredith Grey in the middle of a crisis of some sort.

She laughs nervously, fiddling with the elastic on her wrist before replying “So, um, I know this is a lot to ask, but Link, Scout and Amelia have the flu; Maggie was meant to take them but she has been pulled into an emergency surgery; Jackson is with Harriet, Richard and Catherine on vacation; Bailey and Ben are on their way back from a weekend away with the boys, Owen and Teddy are working and Jo has a stomach bug though I think it might actually be a bug growing in her uterus from the ‘consults’ she has been doing with Jackson. This means my very long list of babysitters are all busy and I am the only general surgery attending here and all of this is a very long way to say would it be too much to ask you to watch my kids for me when the day care closes in half an hour?” 

She looked so nervous asking that he almost started laughing before he caught her eye and saw she was almost crying. He moved forward to hug her saying “of course I will take them. Do you want me to watch them at yours or can I take them to my place? I'm sure my boys will be happy to share their gaming consoles with your kids.” 

“Anywhere is fine! They all have a change of clothes in their bags. Bailey should be in by 9pm which is when my shift ends, I can pick the kids up then, just text me your address.” Realising she was still in Cormac’s arms, Meredith smiled at him before moving away. 

“Thank you, Hayes” she said “just page me when you are ready to leave and I will come up with you to day care to sign them out and add you to the list, only if you want, I don’t want to presume that you will want to go on my babysitting list.” He cut off her rambling placing a hand on her arm and looking into her eyes saying “anytime grey, know that I would take your kids anytime. And I would be honoured to be on the list. I'm ready to leave now if you want to come up with me?” 

She smiled again and he turned away to get his clothes from his locker to change. 

They walked up to the day care together as she filled him in on each of her kids “Ellis loves vegetables and won’t eat cheese, she can’t always play the games the older kids want to play so I keep her drawing supplies and favourite bear in her bag, her usual bedtime is 8pm so she might get tired around then, if she does you can let her go to sleep, I can carry her to the car, the kids all have a spare set of toiletries in their bags in case I get called into an emergency surgery and they have to stay with Richard or Jackson or Bailey. If she doesn’t want to sleep that is ok too, it doesn’t matter if she stays up a bit latter tonight. Bailey is very active; he loves soccer and fishing. He is a quiet little kid, but you can tell how he is doing by his smile. He loves junk food like me but will eat anything if you put it in front of him. Recently he has been copying other kids at school and saying he doesn’t like this or that, just ignore he said anything and put it on his pate. He usually goes to bed around 9pm but if he is tired earlier it doesn’t matter if he goes to sleep. Zola is my chatty little girl, she loves anything to do with surgery and will probably happily spend the evening playing with her Anatomy Jane doll, she will probably interrogate you about your work, just don’t tell her any stories where patients die, other than that it will probably be nothing she hasn’t heard before from Alex.” 

She finished as they reached the day care floor and he assured her that he and the kids would be fine “ok, so Ellis is a healthy kid, she can play on her own and may get tired, let her go to sleep if wants to, Bailey will happily play outside with my boys, they have a soccer goal set up, he probably won’t get tired but if he does let him go to sleep, Zola loves surgery and will ask my questions. I’ve got this, you go be a badass surgeon!” 

She hugged him quickly, thanking him again for taking her kids before they stepped into the day care. 

“Hi Dr. Grey, are you here for Zola, Bailey and Ellis?” The hospital day care attendant Claire said enthusiastically. 

“Yes Claire, I'm here to pick them up and to add Dr Hayes here to the approved list of people who can sign them out.” Meredith said.

“Of course, Dr Grey. You can go get your kids while I fill out the forms with Dr Hayes and then you can sign” Meredith thanked Claire and moved into the day care to find her kids. 

“So, Dr Hayes, I will need your name, contact information, address and a form of photo id for me to scan, a hospital badge is fine.” 

“Great, thank you Claire was it?” he said handing her his badge before telling the other relevant information. Once they were finished putting him into the system, he went into the day care to help Meredith get her kids ready to go home.

“How can I help?” he said, walking up behind her as she helped Bailey put his shoes on. 

“Zola is finishing her drawing. You could go over to the top right cubby and get out her bag and bring it over to me and bring her the pink shoes to put on? Bailey is ready and I can go get Ellis and get her ready, then we are good to go!” Meredith moves towards Ellis while Cormac goes over to Zola with her shoes and helps her put them on. Looking over at Cormac and Zola Meredith smiles, seeing how caring and gentle he is with her daughter.

“Ok party people, let’s go!” Meredith says once they are all ready. Speaking to Cormac she adds “shall we put the bags in your car then get their seats out of mine?” 

“Good plan, Grey” he says with a smile as they walk out of the building, Cormac holding Zola’s hand while Meredith holds Ellis and Bailey’s hands. 

Helm sees the group walk out of the building together and can’t help but smile seeing how happy Meredith is and how they seem like they have always been a family.


	2. Chapter 2

As they reach the car, Meredith kneels down at her kids’ level saying “mummy has to work this evening, so you guys are going to go play at Dr Hayes’ house, ok? Mummy will pick you up when she finishes. I hear there is a soccer goal that you can play with Bailey!”

Bailey smiles from ear to ear while Zola speaks up first, asking Cormac “is there somewhere I can set up my OR? I need light, a sterile environment and a surface for my table.” He smiles at the confident little girl saying, “I’m sure we can find somewhere for you to operate Dr Grey-Shepherd.” 

Zola is content with this and shakes Cormac’s hand matter-of-factly before getting into her car seat. 

Ellis who had remained quiet up until this point tugs on Meredith’s arm before whispering in her ear. Meredith smiles at her daughter before answering “I'm sure Dr Hayes has some blankets and pillows that you can use to make a bed for Raffle” Ellis whispered in Meredith’s ear again and Meredith chuckled as she responded with a serious look on her face “I'm sure he also has some lettuce and carrots at home so that Raffle can eat” 

Ellis grinned and hugged her mum before running over and hugging Cormac, taking him by surprise. He smiled, returning her hug and assuring her that he did have all the supplies necessary to take good care of Raffle. 

A few minutes later all car seats are placed in Cormac’s car and all children safely clipped in. 

The kids say good bye to their mum and Cormac squeezes her arm before getting in the car, reminding her that they will be more than fine. She gives him a smile and turns away as her pager rings, and he moves towards the driver’s seat. 

Turning to look at her kids in his backseat he says “ok, so we are going to go back to my house, my boys should be home by the time we get there, please let any of us know if you need anything. Any song requests?”

“Raffi!” Zola shouts excitedly. 

“I used to sing his songs with my boys, lets see what I can find” Cormac said as he picks up his phone to find a playlist on Spotify. He starts the car as Swing started playing through the speakers. The kids start singing along as he pulls out of the parking lot. The rest of the drive to his house is spent with all four of them singing along to Raffi. 

Once they have parked in the driveway, Cormac lifts Ellis out of her seat while Zola and Bailey unclip themselves and hop out of the car. Gathering all the bags on one arm and holding Ellis’ hand in his other hand Cormac moves towards the door. 

“Boys, can you come down and say hello?” he says as they walk in the door. Putting the bags on the bench at the door he kneels down to help Ellis take off her shoes. 

Liam is first downstairs, he pauses when he sees the kids with his dad asking “Da, who’s this?” as he enters the room. 

“Zola, Bailey, Ellis, this is Liam my oldest son, Liam these are Dr Grey’s kids Zola, Bailey and Ellis. Their mom had to work tonight so they will be hanging out with us.” Cormac says as he stands up. 

“Hey guys!” Liam says warmly, “welcome to our house.” 

Cormac smiles at his son, happy that he is being so welcoming to the kids. “Bailey here loves soccer; I was thinking you and your brother might like to have a play in the backyard with him?” 

Liam grins high fiving Bailey and leading him towards the back of the house calling out “hey Austin, come down and play soccer with Bailey and I.”

Seeing Bailey happily follow Liam to the backyard, Cormac turns to Zola saying “Dr Grey-Shepherd I believe I have an OR through here for your operation. I hope it is adequate for your needs.” He then turns to Ellis adding “after we get your sister set up for her surgery, we can go on a hunt for some bedding and treats for Raffle, how does that sound?” 

Zola and Ellis smile at him and follow as he moves into the living room showing Zola the oval coffee table. He moves the two reading lamps from beside the couches, so they shine onto the table, and puts her bag on top. “How does that look Zola?” he says as she starts to unpack her bag. “Thank you, Dr Hayes!” She replies excitedly.

“It was my pleasure, and you can call my Cormac, Zola” He says as she meticulously sets up the table. 

Zola stats humming a song as she puts Anatomy Jane on the table. Seeing how happy and engrossed in her surgery Zola is, Cormac turns to Ellis and says “let’s go make a bed for Raffle and get him some snacks, how does that sound?” 

Ellis’ face breaks into a smile as she tugs on his arm. As he leans down, she speaks into his ear saying “Raffle likes the colour blue, he says he wants a nap and doesn’t have to eat until we have dinner” 

Cormac nods his head and says “thank you for letting me know Raffle. Now, I think I have an empty box in the kitchen that I can use to make a bed for Raffle, and I know I have a soft blue blanket in the cupboard that we can put in it. Why don’t you grab that pillow off the couch, Ellis, we can use it as a mattress in the box.”

Ellis skips over to the couch, grabbing the cushion before taking Cormac’s hand as they make their way into the kitchen. He finds an empty cardboard box and places it on the counter as he puts the pillow in it. 

“I’m going to get the blanket from the cupboard, do you want to wait here or come with me?” he asks Ellis. “I stay here” Ellis says as she clambers up onto the stool next to the box.

Walking towards the hallway cupboard, Cormac looks back to see her happily engrossed in telling a story to Raffle, turning back around he sees Austin pass the soccer ball to Bailey who kicks it at Liam in the goal. Glancing into the living room as he walks past he sees Zola talking to herself as she performs a surgery on her doll. He smiles seeing how happy and comfortable all the people in the house are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter here we come! Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think! Thank you to everyone who has left cudos or comments, I really appreciate your support! xx


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as Meredith left her kids with Cormac her afternoon just kept getting busier. It started with a consult in the pit for a 20-year-old who presented with abdominal pain and nausea. A young intern was on the case and immediately assumed gastroenteritis aka the flu. It wasn’t until Meredith got there and reassessed that they realised the girl had a perforated bowl. 

“Book an OR, this girl needs surgery” Meredith says as soon as she sees the CT results from the girl’s scan. 

“OR 3 is booked and ready” Nurse Debbie says as she puts down the phone. 

“Thank you, Debbie. You!” Meredith says to the intern on the case “you will come scrub in on the surgery to see what you missed and what would have happened if I hadn’t been called in for a consult.” 

Meredith quickly scrubs in for the surgery, telling the intern they are to look but not touch. 

They are a few hours into the surgery when Meredith’s phone rings. “can you check that please, it might be about my kids” Meredith says to the intern. 

“It says, Christina, should I answer?” the intern says timidly.

“Pick up and put it on speaker, it is early and she knows I'm working to it must be important” Meredith answers. 

“Hey Chris, you’re on speaker in the OR. Is everything all right? You are never usually awake this early” Meredith says as the intern holds the phone beside her. 

“Great to talk to you too!” Christina says, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Do you want to tell me when a certain peds surgeon woke me up an hour before I would usually bless this world with my presence so he could freaking ask me about whether your kids are allowed sugar after dinner?” 

“Probably because he knew I was in surgery and that I was worried enough about asking him to take my kids for a few hours” Meredith replies drily. 

“That explains why he was so insistent that he needed to take care of them right.”

“It isn’t that I don’t trust him! It’s just a lot to ask of someone to take your three energetic kids, especially when you don’t feel it out with them first. You know, he probably won’t appreciate you talking with me about this, there is a reason he called you instead of me” Meredith added. 

“Since it is your fault I am awake much too early in the morning you owe me stories, or gossip. What exactly is your relationship with the guardian of your kids?” Christina says cheekily.

“We are work friends, I guess with him taking care of my kids we are just plain friends. What else do you want to know?” Meredith says matter-of-factly. 

“If he asked you on a date would you say yes?” Christina asks

“Christina!” Meredith says indignantly. “I'm in an OR, this is not the time nor the place. Go have fun with your printers and hearts, I will call you tomorrow morning and we can catch up properly. Right now, I need to close up this patient and go pick up my kids” Meredith says as she indicates to the intern to hang up the phone.

“Love you too Mer” Christina says with a chuckle as the call ends. 

Twenty minutes later Meredith is scrubbing out and heading to the attendings lounge to get changed and leave when her pager rings 911 to the ER. Cursing her bad luck, Meredith runs down an sees Bailey and Hunt both involved with patients in trauma rooms. Bailey beckons Meredith over. Entering the room, she sees a patient in bad shape. 

“Meredith, I know it is the end of your shift, but can you please scrub in with me and help get this man stabilised? I can finish the surgery on my own.” Bailey says quickly with a hint of an apology.

“Of course, Bailey, let’s get him scanned and up to an OR before he deteriorates further. I will meet you up there, I just need to call and say I will be late picking up my kids.” Meredith says firmly.

Walking into an empty supply closet and pulling out her phone she dials Hayes’ number. 

“Hayes speaking” He says when he answers.

“Hey Hayes, it’s Meredith. Um, so I've been called into an emergency surgery with Bailey, I need to stay and help her stabilise him. Hunt is in another surgery otherwise he would help. I will probably not get to yours until 10:30. Would it be too much to ask if you could get my kids ready for bed?”

“Of course, Grey” he says. “Is there anything I need to know about their bedtime routine? I have a spare bed that they can go to sleep in if they are able to sleep together.”

“That is fantastic! I'm sorry to ask so much of you. Ellis goes to bed around 8:30, Bailey 9:00 and Zola 9:30. It is ok if they are awake past their bedtimes, just 10:30 is a bit past when I would ideally have them awake. Ellis will probably want a bedtime story, you can tell her any story as long as it isn’t scary, if you are comfortable doing that! Thank you again for taking them, it has been an immense help” Meredith says, thankful to have such a helpful friend.

“My pleasure, Grey. We have had fun here this evening, and my boys enjoyed having a younger kid to play with. Take your time, we will all be great!” He says confidently.

“Thank you!” Meredith reiterates. “I need to go scrub in now but feel free to call if any of my kids want to speak before bed. I will bring my phone in and the nurse will answer unless our patient is really unstable, and I am unable to talk.”

“Go save a life! Don’t worry about us, we will be more than fine.” He says as they hang up. 

Meredith quickly scrubs in with Bailey and they start the surgery, moving in sync as they attempt to stabilise the patient and fix the worst of his internal injuries. 

At about 8:35 Meredith’s phone rang. They were quietly working on separate repairs and the patient was stable for the moment, so Meredith indicated to the nurse to answer. 

“There is someone here who wants to say goodnight” Cormac’s rich Irish accent comes through the speaker. Bailey glances sideways at Meredith, surprise and curiosity evident on her face.

“Put her on” Meredith says warmly.

“Hi Mama” Ellis’ quiet voice comes through the phone.

“Hey Ellie Belle, did you have a fun afternoon?” Meredith says to her daughter.

“Yes, Raffle and I helped make dinner!” She replies excitedly. 

Meredith smiles before responding. “That sounds lovely my darling! I'm glad you had a fun evening. Do you want mummy to sing your bedtime song?”

“uhuh” is all that you can hear through the phone before Cormac says “she is nodding her head and snuggling into the bed.” 

“ok sweetheart” Meredith says before she starts singing Golden Slumbers. 

When she finishes the song she says “sleep well my Ellie Belle.” 

“G’night mummy” is the reply that comes through the phone. A few minutes later Cormac’s voice comes on saying “she is tucked in; do you want to talk to Zola and Bailey now?” 

“I would love to!” Meredith replies before the monitors start beeping. “on second thoughts I might have to postpone” She says drily as someone shouts out “pressure’s dropping!”

Cormac replies “I will tell them you say hi but had to finish your surgery and you will give them a kiss when you pick them up.”

“Thank you!” Meredith says as the nurse hangs up and she and Bailey work quickly to save the patient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think. Thank you to everyone who has commented or reacted! It makes me very happy to know people are reading and enjoying my story. xx


	4. Chapter 4

“Grey, I know you are wanting to go pick up those kids of yours, we can handle it from here” Bailey says at 10:00 once the major bleeding is controlled. 

“Thank you, Bailey! You know I don’t like to leave my kids with other people when I can help it.” Meredith says as she hands her tools over to the resident. 

“You never have to worry about not being a good mom, Meredith. Those kids love you and god knows you would do anything for them. Go pick up your kids and say hi to Dr Hayes for me” she says with a smirk.

Meredith rolls her eyes at Bailey as she moves to scrub out. 

Fifteen minutes later she has changed and is making her way out of the hospital when it starts to pour. Meredith is soaked by the time she runs to her car, quickly shutting the door and turning up the heat. Twenty minutes later, as the rain intensifies, she is pulling up in front of a white two-story house. There is light streaming out of the living room window showing through to the kitchen where she can see Cormac sitting at the island looking at something on his laptop. 

She parks and hurries to the front door to get under cover, cursing herself for not bringing her umbrella with her to work that morning. She knocks on the door, squeezing out her hair as she hears him move towards the door. 

Cormac pulls open the door, smiling when he sees Meredith before frowning as she takes in her dripping appearance. “Meredith, come in” he says as he pulls her inside, shutting the door to the rain behind her. 

“Thank you for taking care of my kids” she says shivering slightly from her soaked clothes. 

He shivers do not go unnoticed by Cormac who gestures to the kitchen saying “let’s get you warmed up before you take your kids home, I know it is a good 45-minute drive to your house and I have plenty of umbrellas and clothes you can borrow. We don’t want you getting sick before your weekend off!”

Meredith glances up at him, before nodding her head and beginning to take off her shoes. 

“Why don’t you have a warm shower and put on some dry clothes before a cup of tea. The bathroom is this way” he says gesturing to the stairs on their right. “I will go get you some dry clothes and a towel and meet you there” he finishes smiling at her as she hugs her arms around herself. 

Ten minutes later, Meredith comes downstairs dressed in Cormac’s grey trackies and a green t-shirt, her hair wound up in the towel. She comes into the kitchen finding Cormac pouring tea into two glasses while Liam sits at the counter in front of him. 

“Hey Dr Grey” Liam says as he sees her walk into the room. 

“Hi Liam, right? And you can call me Meredith” She says smiling at the boy sitting at the counter. 

“Yeah” he says happy she remembered his name. 

“Thank you for playing with my kids this afternoon, they always enjoy spending time with older kids, most of the other doctors’ kids are younger” She says as Cormac hands her one of the cups. 

“It was quite fun, actually. Bailey is such a determined soccer player! He kept Austin and I on our toes all evening” Liam says with a laugh. 

“Lets go to the living room” Cormac says as he moves towards Meredith and Liam, ushering them into the next room. 

“Have fun da, I need to go finish some homework for school tomorrow” Liam says, hugging his dad. 

“It was lovely to see you again Liam” Meredith says and he gives her a smile as he walks up the stairs. 

“Thanks for the tea” Meredith says as she takes a seat beside Cormac on the couch and soft jazz starts playing from the speaker he turned on. She curls her feet under her, turning towards him as she sips the peppermint tea. 

He smiles back saying “always, Grey.”

“You know us having tea at your house and you taking care of my kids makes us friends, so you can call me Meredith” she says with a smile. 

“Ok, Meredith” he says with a grin “ then you can call me Cormac.”

The hold eye contact as they sip their tea, smiling quietly at each other. 

“Liam is such a lovely boy, you’ve done well!” 

“Thanks Grey, though you should see him when his friends are around” he says with a chuckle. “He has started partying since entering year 11, he goes out with friends and I have no idea where he is, at least he is the more responsible one of my boys. Austin is already rebelling, I don’t know how I will handle his teenage years.” 

Despite his lighthearted tone, Meredith can see the deep worry in his eyes, the fear of raising kids alone. 

“It is a Friday night, he spent it playing with my kid instead of out with his friends and he went up to study instead of going out when they went to sleep, I would say you are doing a great job. I worry constantly that I am messing up my kids like my mom messed me up but then I see them smile and I know I’m doing at least one thing right.” She says, reaching out to give his arm a squeeze. “And if you are worried about them having people to look out for them, give them my number and they can call me, then if you are in surgery, they have someone to call. You took care of my kids; I’ll look out for yours.” 

“Thank you Grey” He said, putting his hand on hers. 

They continued chatting about their kids until they finished their tea, sitting together on the couch. 

“I should let you get some sleep” Meredith said, remembering that Cormac has an early surgery the next morning. 

“I’ll help you get the kids in the car” he says, standing up and taking their cups to the kitchen. 

They bundled up each kid in a blanket and carefully placed them in their car seats, being attentive not to wake them. Once everyone was strapped in, Meredith moved around to the side Cormac was on, taking him into a hug saying, “thanks for the tea and babysitting and chats.” 

He smiled down at her saying “thanks for the great company, Meredith.” 

She smiled at the way he said her name, getting in the car and giving him a small wave before driving away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading (at least i think you did if you got to this point), I really hoped you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think, i love hearing your comments. To everyone who has commented up to date, thank you again, your words mean so much to me. xx


	5. Chapter 5

Monday morning as Meredith is getting Ellis out of the car, Cormac pulls into the neighbouring space. Seeing him get out of the car, Ellis runs towards him, hugging I his legs saying “Cormie!” 

Meredith doesn’t see him pull in beside her as she is busy getting their bags out of the car and looks up to see Ellis gone. Freaking out that her daughter until she notices her daughter in Cormac’s arms giggling at something he says. Smiling, she makes her way over to the pair. 

“Hey Ellie, I see you found a friend here. Just remember not to run off on mummy, there are big cars around and I don’t want you to get hurt.” Meredith says as she reaches them. 

Ellis looks down at the ground from her perch in Cormac’s arms, mumbling “sorry mummy.” Perking up a bit she excitedly asks “can Cormie take me to day care?”

Meredith smiles at how comfortable her daughter is and says, “how about you ask him yourself?”

Ellis grins, looking up at Cormac, and he can’t help but notice how she has perfected the wishful expression on her face. “Please, Cormie, can you take me up to day care?”

Taking in her wide green eyes he can’t help but say yes. 

The three make their way inside and to the elevators, oblivious to the gaze of Jackson following them from the desk. He quickly picks up the phone, dialing the one number he thinks will have answers for him.

“Klausman Institut für Medizinische Forschung, Amanda spricht” he hears from the other end of the line.

“Bonjour Amanda, Docteur Yang, s’il vous plait” he says, hoping that the woman on the other end of the line also speaks French and thanking his mother for insisting he learn another language in school. 

“Oui, bien sûr, une moment” she says, and he hears holding music come on. A few seconds later the phone clicks and he hears Cristina’s voice saying “which of you idiots is calling me now?” 

“hello to you too, Yang” Jackson says with a laugh. “What would you have done if this was, say the Chief of Mass Gen calling instead of an acquaintance?” 

She laughs saying “all Americans are idiots, I'm the exception, and all doctors should be honoured to speak to me, and if they get offended by my language and if they decide not to work with me after that then that is their problem, not mine. Anyways, Avery, I don’t think you are calling about my views on Americans so what can I do for you?”

“Well you are the person who would know so I called, how long have Grey and Hayes been dating?” he asked. 

Cristina chocked on the sip of coffee she had taken, saying “They are dating? Wouldn’t you think that they should tell me first instead of you finding out? Augh, after all the effort I put into setting those two up you should think they could show me the least bit of courtesy” Cristina ranted until Jackson cut in.

“Wait, they aren’t dating? They just seemed so familiar and he was carrying Ellis for her” Jackson said confused. 

“Oh, so they are in the ‘we’re just friends’ but we spend a ton of time together and help each other’s with their kids phase. You know this is the third time this week that I have had a phone call about this. First Hayes called freaking out about whether he was taking good enough care of her kids on Friday, then I called Mer and she said he was just babysitting for her and now they are coming into the hospital together and he is holding her kid. Just you wait, soon enough we will see our romance bloom.” She says conspiratorially. 

Jackson laughs at Cristina saying, “I’ll keep you up to date on the goings on here if you tell me if there are any official updates, deal?”

“Only if you will do something for me” she says seriously. 

“What do you want me to do?” apprehension heavy in his voice. 

She starts telling him all her plans as he chuckles and shakes his head. 

After dropping Ellis at day care together, Meredith and Cormac make their way down to the attendings’ lounge, together, as she tells him how much her kids loved playing with his. 

They enter the lounge, and he pours them each a cup of coffee as Jo runs through into the bathroom. “Thanks for the coffee, I would stay and drink with you but I need to go check on that” Meredith says pointing at the closed bathroom door. 

“Lunch, instead, I’ll hold you to it” he says with an understanding smile as he gives them some privacy. 

“Jo?” Meredith says quietly. She hears a groan then the sounds of vomiting come from behind the door. “I'm going to go get you some ginger ale and crackers and will be back in a minute, ok?” a mumble is heard in acknowledgement.

Meredith quickly leaves the room, going to pick up her supplies. Returning to the attendings’ lounge she finds Jo lying on the couch, her hand over her eyes.

“Hi Jo” Meredith says kneeling beside her and putting her supplies down. 

Jo groans and Meredith nods her head. “Have you taken a test yet?”

“What?” Jo says, moving her hand to look at Meredith in confusion, a second later the sudden movement sends her sprinting to the bathroom as a new wave a nausea hits her. 

“I take it you haven’t” Meredith says as she joins Jo in the bathroom, carrying her bag with her. She rubs Jo’s back until the wave of nausea passes and Jo slumps against the floor. 

“Here” she says passing Jo a glass of water to rinse her mouth followed by the ginger ale. Jo smiles gratefully, taking them and standing slowly. Once Jo has drunk some of the ginger ale and is feeling a bit better Meredith hands her three sticks saying “pee, now, then we’ll know.” 

Jo looks confused saying “it’s just the flu, I had my period only" she trails off as she thinks back to her last period, shock and realisation taking over her face as she takes the sticks and moves over to the toilet.

“I will be outside, let me know if you need anything” Meredith says, closing the door behind her. 

About five minutes later, Jo walks out of the bathroom with a shocked look on her face. “I’m pregnant” she says, smiling slightly at the words and Meredith moves to hug her. 

“You know, I never thought I would every have a child with someone other than Alex, but here I am.”

Meredith sits them down on the couch, keeping her arm around Jo as she responds “I never thought I would be happy without Derek but here I am, plans change, people change, and Jackson is already a wonderful father to Harriet” she says with a knowing smile. 

“You know?” Jo says, surprised. 

“Of course I know, you two are some of my closest friends, I notice things. Just remember, Bailey and I have done this before, we know how exhausting it is, so, once you have wrapped your head around this, come and we will organise a schedule to make this as easy as possible for you, you are an attending so there is no need for you to overwork yourself. There is nothing to be ashamed of when you need to take more breaks and do shorter surgeries, ok?” 

Jo smiles at Meredith giving her a hug before standing up and saying, “Thank you, Meredith, for everything.”

“Just take care of my god child!” Meredith says with a grin as Jo walks out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really enjoying writing this story and i hope you are enjoying reading it just as much. Thanks again to everyone who has commented! Your kind words make my day. Let me know what you think of this newest chapter. I know not everyone likes the new Jackson/Jo relationship but i think it has potential and i want to explore that. This story is mainly Mer/Cormac but we will see the development of Jackson/Jo through how it interfaces with their lives. xx


	6. Chapter 6

By lunchtime Meredith is exhausted. As soon as Jo left the attending’s lounge that morning she got paged to the pit. An MVC where a texting teenager ran a red light crashing into a family. She rushed the father into surgery, but he arrested three hours in and she could not revive him. As she walks out of the scrub room, she sees Cormac standing at the nurses’ station.

He looks up as the door opens, taking in her tired face and quickly moves towards her, guiding her down the hallway to his office. As soon as he closes the door she collapses onto the couch, and he sees her shoulders start to heave with sobs. 

“You will be ok” he says to her as he sits beside the couch, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and rubbing her back with the other hand. She curls into him and he realises how much this surgery must have affected her. 

Minutes passed, the only sound Meredith’s sobs as Cormac continued to rub her back and hold her close. Slowly Meredith’s sobs slow and eventually she looks up into Cormac’s face giving him a weak smile.

Cormac hands her a bottle of water and she drinks it in silence, leaning into him before she finally decides to speak. 

“A teenager was texting, ran into a family. Mum, Dad, and two kids, a girl and a boy. The kid hit the dad’s side. He died on my table.” Tears started falling down her face as she told the story. “All I could keep thinking about is Derek. The children are about the same age Zola and Bailey were.” She stops talking and stares into the distance as Cormac continues to rub her back and console her. 

The continue in silence as the world passes around them. At one point Bailey walks past, trying to find Meredith, knowing this loss will have affected her. Seeing her Chief of General curled up on the couch leaning against her Chief of Peds, Bailey smiles and continues on. 

Eventually Meredith looks up again her eyes filled with sadness saying, “thank you” Cormac smiles gently at her and responds, “any time, Meredith.” A few moments later he continues saying “it is lunch time, I'm sure you are starving. Why don’t I go to the cafeteria and get us both something to eat they we can eat here? I’ll be back in a moment.” Meredith nods slightly and Cormac stands. 

Cormac returns as quickly as he can grabbing a Greek salad for himself and a sun-dried tomato and chicken wrap for Mer. Walking up to the room he starts to panic when he doesn’t see Meredith sitting up on the couch. He starts to run towards the room, only stopping when he gets close to the window and sees in further. His mouth curves into a smile as he takes in the fierce Dr Grey curled up asleep on his couch. 

Quietly, Cormac enters the room and gently places a blanket over Meredith. He moves to behind his desk and starts doing paperwork. He keeps finding himself glancing over at Meredith, noticing how peaceful she looks sleeping. He finds himself wondering what it would be like to wake up next to her and quickly shakes his head, mumbling “we’re just friends, why would you think that” he turns back to him computer and focusses on not staring at her peaceful form. 

Half an hour later, he notices Meredith start to stir and her eyes blink open. She looks around for a moment before she focusses on him, a hint of a smile darts across her face and she says “I fell asleep?”

“yeah, you looked so peaceful and I checked the OR board, and your next surgery isn’t for another hour so I thought I would let you rest” Cormac says as moves to sit beside her handing her the wrap while he opens his salad.

“Thank you” Meredith says, smiling at Cormac as she opens her food. 

“Any time” Cormac says, as he smiles back at her, “I understand.” They sit, chatting quietly while they finish their lunches before Meredith has to go prep for her surgery. 

Meredith is walking back to her office after her surgery when Jo run us to her in the hallway. “So, um, I need to tell Jackson and I have no idea how” Jo starts as they walk towards the offices. “How did you tell Derek you were pregnant?”

“I told him I was pregnant by showing him a shirt for Zola that said World’s Best Big Sister.” Meredith says as she ushers Jo into her office.

“Yeah, well even though Harriet will be the kids big sister, I don’t think that is the best way for me to do this. Do you know how April told him about Harriet?” Jo asks as she sits down in front of Meredith’s desk.

“She didn’t tell him, Arizona did. April found out she was pregnant the day they got divorced, she told Arizona and was stalling on telling Jackson, so Arizona went and told him herself. The only advice I can give you is to tell him yourself and tell him soon. He will be scared, but e will also be overjoyed” Meredith says as she sits down behind her desk. 

“I just want it to be special, I don’t want to just blurt it out.” Jo says, worrying.

“As Cristina once told me, you found out in the lady’s room squatting over a stick, why should he get special. I get the urge to make it special, and it will be a moment you both remember but it doesn’t need to be elaborate. Choose to tell him in a way that means something to both of you.”

“Thank you, Meredith, I guess I need to stop overthinking and get to it” Jo says as she gets up and turns to the door.

“I have faith in you!” Meredith calls as Jo walks out the door passing Cormac. 

“What did jo need?” he asks as he walks in, handing Meredith a cup of tea. “I thought you might need this after your surgery.”

“Advice on a personal thing, thanks for the tea!” She says, grinning at Cormac. 

“I was walking past and thought of you, I should let you get back to your paperwork. Good luck on that mountain” he says with a laugh as he walks out the door. Meredith smiles after him as she takes a sip of her tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! From here on, updates will not always be as consistent since I am moving soon. I am meant to be returning to Melbourne on the 20th however with this new lockdown things are up in the air again until Dan lifts the restrictions. Hope you are all safe and cant wait to keep bringing you this story. Let me know what you think! xx


	7. Chapter 7

Walking down the hallway between surgeries Meredith sees Cormac ahead and calls out “Cormac! Hey.” He turns around, smiling when he hears her voice, pausing as she catches up to him. “I meant to text this morning, but it completely slipped me mind. Tonight is Thursday night pizza night at my house. Zola remembered your boys mentioning not eating pizza often enough and wanted me to invite you guys over to eat with us.” 

“Awe, how thoughtful! I can’t think of any reason we can come, off the top of my head. I have the night off and my boys finish soccer training at 6:30.” He says, falling into step beside her. “Is there anything we can bring?” Cormac asks, as they near the OR board.

“Just you and your boys! We always have too many ingredients and not enough mouths. I guess it is habit from when the frat house was full of six adults” Meredith said with a laugh.

“Dr Grey, your patient is prepped in the OR” a nurse says walking up to the pair.

“Well, I guess I should get going, look forward to seeing you tonight!” Meredith says as she walks into the scrub room.

“Thanks for the invitation, Grey!” Cormac says as she walks away, and they share a smile before the door closes behind her. 

**********

“Ok, kids, let’s get going! Its pizza night and Liam, Austin and Cormac are coming” Meredith says as she walks gathers the kids in the day care. “Zola, honey, can you please help Ellis put her shoes on while I get Scout ready?”

“Uhuh! Its pizza day!” Zola says excitedly as she bounds towards Ellis and gently helps her sister put her shoes on. 

After all the kids have their shoes on, Meredith gathers all the bags over one shoulder and holding Ellis’ hand, picking up Scout with her other arm while Zola and Bailey scamper along ahead. 

As the elevator doors open, Scout starts to fuss. “Ok, onto the elevator. Ellis go stand with your sister and brother please” Meredith says ushering them into the busy elevator. 

Scout starts to whimper as the doors close. “Here, let me help you” a voice says in Meredith’s ear making her smile. 

Meredith turns towards Cormac, “what would I do without you” she says as he takes the bags off her shoulder and she starts to rock Scout. 

“You would excel, just a little less gracefully” he says with a smirk. Scouts whimpers turn in cries and Meredith shifts him in her arms as he tried to nuzzle at her chest. 

“Are you hungry, bub? Your diaper feels dry, so I think you are just tired and hungry” Meredith says to Scout. Looking up she looks at Cormac saying, “his sippy cup is in the side pocket of the diaper bag, it should have some water in it, could you please pass it to me?”

Cormac quickly finds the cup, handing it to Meredith as she puts it to Scout’s lips. He quickly latches on. “There you go, you liked that didn’t you” Meredith says, cooing at Scout. Cormac smiles seeing how caring she is with her nephew.

**********

Pulling up to the high school, Cormac quickly parks his car and grabs the bags with clothes that he picked up from his house. Walking up to the grass field he smiles, seeing his boys working together on a team. Liam passes to Austin who takes the ball up the field. The boys continue to work together and Cormac cheers. 

The last scrimmage of the training ends, and Cormac walks over to his boys, enveloping them in hugs. “Ugh, dad! Stop” Austin says struggling. “Dad” Liam says in mock protest. 

“All right boys” Cormac says as he lets them go. “We are going to Dr Grey’s for dinner. Its pizza night and Zola remembered you boys complaining about me not feeding you enough pizza so invited us. Here’s some clothes, go change and I’ll meet you at the car.” 

His boys grab the bags and run off to the change rooms as Cormac smiles after them. 

Getting in the car the boys start bickering. “Dad, Liam always gets the front seat, it’s not fair” Austin says to his father. “You are just too slow” Liam says with a laugh, teasing his brother. 

“Liam! Apologise to your brother. Austin, you can sit in the front on the drive home, ok?” Cormac says as he turns on the car.

“Yes, da” both boys say, Liam rolling his eyes and Austin cheering. 

Liam gets quiet for a few minutes before he asks his dad “Are you and Meredith dating? Is this a nice family dinner you guys have crafted, to see if your kids will get along before you announce it to us?”

“No, no, Meredith and I are not dating, we are just work friends, well I guess we are just plain friends, since we are going over to dinner at her house and her kids came and hung out with us, anyways, the answer is we aren’t dating, we are just friends, and her kids enjoyed playing with you guys, and you boys enjoy pizza” Cormac says, flustered and rambling.

Liam looks at him, smirking and says “of course dad, just friends, that’s all you are. Just, um, please tell us as soon as you start dating, ok? Mom wanted you to be happy and Meredith seems nice. She is single, right?” 

Cormac smiles at his son and answers “Yes, she is single”, chuckling to himself at how observant and forward his son is. What if we did date? She is so funny, and beautiful, and we get each other, Cormac starts thinking as Liam leans forward and turns on the radio and he and Austin start singing along to the song. 

The rest of the drive to Meredith’s house passes without incidence as Cormac continues his musings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7! I am so excited for the coming chapters and i hope you enjoy them as much as i do. Thank you again to everoyne who has commented! I love hearing your thoughts. xx


	8. Chapter 8

As the Hayes family walks towards the door, Cormac notices a little head pop up in the living room window then disappear again. Before they are even up the steps, the front door flies open and Ellis comes bounding out, launching herself into Cormac’s arms screaming “Cormie!!” 

As they reach the door, Meredith appears, Scout on her hip. Meredith welcomes them with a smile. “Hey guys, welcome. As you can see, we are very glad you are joining us” she says gesturing to Ellis who is perched in Cormac’s arms. “Come on in, I'm just finishing preparing the toppings for the pizzas. Zola and Bailey are doing some homework, I thought you boys could join them, assuming you have some work to do. Otherwise we have a soccer ball in the back yard and I think there are some games Alex set up on the TV, not sure what exactly, you would have to ask Bailey” she finishes with a laugh. 

Cormac smiles at her, “I’m sure homework time would be great, then maybe some games after dinner. They went straight from school to soccer and then here” Cormac says with a reassuring smile in Meredith’s direction. “Do you lads need anything from the car?” he adds to his boys. 

Liam nods, “thanks for having us for dinner, Meredith” he says with a smile as he takes his dad’s keys and moves towards the door. “I’ll get your bag for you, Austin.”

Leading Cormac and Austin into the kitchen, Meredith places Scout in his highchair at the kitchen counter while Ellis gestures to the stool next to it. “Raffle and me cooking” she tells Cormac as he sits her down. 

Seeing Austin and Cormac come in, Zola and Bailey say hi. “Austin, you can come sit here” Zola says, pointing at the seat across from her. “Liam can sit there” she adds pointing across from Bailey. “Scout and Ellis don’t do homework, we are the big kids, we are at School!”

Austin grins as he makes his way towards the table, remembering how chatty these kids are. “What are you working on, Zola?” he asks as he takes his seat across from her. 

“Maths, these questions are easy. Can I do your homework with you?” she asks hopefully. 

Meredith smiles at her daughter as she heads behind the counter. “I’m preparing plates of each topping. We like to let everyone design their own pizza. I'm just finishing chopping the veggies while some garlic roasts. Do you want to either take over the chopping or caramelise the onions beside the stove?” Meredith asks Cormac as he joins her in the kitchen. 

“I’ll put the onions on then I can join you chopping while they cook.” He says as he rolls up his sleeves and washes his hands. 

Liam smiles as he walks into the room, seeing his father and Meredith laughing and smiling as they cook together. 

Sitting down at the table, Liam says to Zola “thanks for inviting us. Pizza is yummy, and dad looks happy.”

Zola leans towards him and whispers “mummy is happy too. She smiles lots. Aunty Amy says that Andrew was too young to understand mummy, she says your dad ‘gets it’.” Zola tells Liam seriously. Liam grins at the little girl, high fiving her. “Maybe after dinner we will go play in a different room, let them hang out?” he says conspiratorially.

Zola nods saying, “once mummy puts Scout to sleep then we just need to play with Ellis.”

“Why didn’t Scout come to our house the other day?” Liam asks, finally voicing the question that had been in his mind since he first saw the baby. 

“Scout was with his mummy and daddy; they have late shift tonight.” Zola answers and Liam nods.

“The pizza making station is ready! Everyone, go wash your hands and we can get started.” Meredith calls out from the kitchen. 

After clearing the dining room table and washing their hands the four older kids join them in the kitchen and Meredith starts to explain “so, we do this make your own pizza style. The possible toppings are laid out here, grab a base and make what you like. Remember” she says to her own kids “you need three types of vegetables either on your pizza or plate.” “That goes for you boys too” Cormac adds to his kids as he and Meredith start handing out Pizza bases on trays. 

Meredith moves towards Ellis, reaching to hold the tray and help with the toppings when Ellis shakes her head and points towards Cormac saying “Cormie help!” Cormac smiles at the little girl and stands beside her, holding the pizza sauce bottle while Ellis scoops it onto her pizza. 

Further along the line, Meredith sees Liam help Zola reach the olives at the back of the counter. 

“Come on Austin! If we get the pizza in quick, we can play soccer while it cooks!” Bailey says excitedly and both Meredith and Cormac smile to themselves, glad to see how well their kids get along. Just like a family, Meredith finds herself thinking before she shakes her head and starts making her own pizza, finding herself grinning involuntarily. 

Once all the pizzas are in the oven, the four older kids run outside to play soccer while Meredith, Cormac, Ellis and Scout move to the living room where Ellis plays with her scattered toys and Scout wiggles happily in his bouncing seat. 

Meredith turns on some background music before she joins Cormac on the couch. “Thanks again for having us for dinner, Grey” Cormac says as Meredith sits down. She tucks her feet up under her and turns towards Cormac saying, “it is really great to have you guys here, and Liam is such a great older brother to Zola.” She suddenly stiffens and continues “older brother figure, Zola is an older child, and it is good for her to have someone to look up to, Liam is really sweet with her, I just, I shouldn’t have worded it like that, our kids are family friends because we are friends, at least I think we are, you are having dinner with us, wait, we had this conversation, we are friends, that means our kids can be friends” Meredith rambles. 

Cormac smiles at Meredith, thinking about how beautiful she looks when she is flustered “Meredith, we are friends, our kids are friends” he says, moving closer and hugging her. 

She looks up at him and he gets lost looking in her eyes until he feels a tap on his leg and looks down to find Ellis standing there saying “come play Cormie!” He gives Meredith one last squeeze before joining Ellis with her toys. Seeing the two of them playing with the stuffed animals Meredith finds herself smiling and her mind drifting to what ifs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks again to everyone who has commented, your thoughts mean so much to me. Let me know what you think of this chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

“Dr Yang? This is Liam, Liam Hayes, I don’t know if you remember me, you told me to call if I ever needed anything. So, um, this is me calling” Liam says when the phone call goes through. 

“Of course I remember you, I’m Dr Yang, I remember all. Now what do you need? I have surgery so get to it!” Cristina says in her usual brash but caring manner. 

“Why did you tell me to call you if you hate people?” Liam answers sarcastically. 

“You reminded me of my best friend and god children. Now, get to it, you know I like you if I give you my personal number, now what do you need?” 

“Ok, I need some advice, and you are the only adult I know who might be able to help me. Do you know Dr Grey at Grey-Sloan? I know you used to work here.” Liam says tentatively.

“Meredith? We did our internship together. What do you want to know?” Cristina says, getting intrigued. 

“Well, so, she and my dad are friends. And well, um, I think they would be good for each other, they are friends and neither is making a move and well, I was wondering if you know, well, first, do you think I’m stupid to think they could both be into each other? I mean, I just saw them when she picked up her kids and at dinner a yesterday, and is the dad of her kids in the picture? I don’t want dad to get hurt if she goes back to him or something, but then Zola said she is happy around him and that her aunt said he ‘gets her’” Liam rambles. 

“Wait, Amelia or Maggie?” Cristina cuts in. 

“Amelia, why does it matter?” Liam answers.

“I just was wondering. Ok, this is great! I now have a team in Seattle, do you think Zola is thinking of them dating or just repeating what Amelia said?” Cristina gets straight to the point. 

“Um, she brought it up, saying Meredith is happy around dad and then said that Andrew wasn’t good for her. Was Andrew Ellis and Bailey’s dad?” Liam replies.

“No, Andrew was Meredith’s first boyfriend she introduced to the kids after Derek. I guess you should know everything if you are helping with my plan. Derek was Meredith’s husband, they adopted Zola together from Africa. He was killed in a car crash before Ellis was born.”

“Oh, I guess that’s what Amelia meant by dad gets her, they understand what the other has lost. Wait, how well do you know them?” Liam questions, gaining a new level of respect for Meredith and further belief that she would make his dad happy. 

“They are my family, now, do you want to be part of the team or not?” Cristina counters and Liam laughs saying “I’m in, I think, is there anything illegal?” and Cristina laughs in return.

********

“Meredith, thanks again for dinner last night, I enjoyed it, and my boys loved the pizza” Cormac says walking up to Meredith the following morning and handing her a cup of coffee. 

“God I love you” Meredith says taking a long drink of the coffee.

“Me or the coffee?” Cormac says with a laugh.

“Oh, um, the coffee, uh thanks for it, I really needed it, stressful morning” Meredith says blushing as she gets flustered. 

“Relax, Grey, I was just poking fun, though I am glad you like me, or at least my coffee” Cormac says with a teasing smile. 

Meredith elbows him, taking another gulp of her coffee as they approach the nurses station. 

“Hey, they say the way to a girl’s heart is through her stomach, I always assumed they meant food, now I know they actually meant coffee, maybe I’ll try out whisk tonight” he says with a smirk as he walks away.

“Smartass!” Meredith calls after him as she stops at the nurses station picking up an iPad and opening up her patient’s chart. 

“So, how’s our favourite Irishman doing?” Jo says walking up. 

Meredith rolls her eyes, “Have you told Jackson?” she counters.

“Told Jackson what?” Jackson says walking up.

“What I told you yesterday” Jo says dismissively, “now about you Meredith” she adds raising her eyebrows and smirking. 

“You told Meredith before me?” Jackson says confused and hurt.

“No, she handed me a stick and said pee and bought me a bottle of ginger ale” Jo says with a laugh. 

“Oh, thanks Meredith” Jackson says grinning at Jo. 

“Now Meredith, Hayes? Spill!” Jo says as she leans on the counter.

Meredith rolls her eyes and walks away, smiling internally.

“So, Mer and Hayes, you think so too?” Jackson asks Jo as soon as Meredith is out of earshot.

“Yeah, I mean Cristina sent him for Meredith and they have so much chemistry!” Jo says adamantly. 

“I knew she had been scheming already!” Jackson exclaims. 

“Who?” Jo asks, visibly confused.

“Cristina. When I called her she already had far to many ideas of how to set the two of them up to have come up with them on the spot. Of course she was adamant that she was just that brilliant, but now I know!” Jackson explains.

“I’m starving, I just really want a blueberry muffin, can we continue this conversation on the way to the coffee cart?” Jo says with pleading eyes.

“Anything for you and the baby” Jackson says with a cheesy grin as Jo rolls her eyes.

“So, Cristina has planned further than sending him to Seattle? Can I have in?” Jo asks with a cheeky look. 

“I’m sure Cristina can find a role for you” Jackson says smiling at how excited Jo is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are getting somewhere! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I like to think that Cristina saw Meredith and her kids in Hayes and his boys and took the kids in, supporting the family in a way she couldn't do for Meredith when she dissapeared, like she would have wanted someone to do for Meredith. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think. Thanks again to everyone who has commented! Your words mean so much to me. xx


	10. Chapter 10

“Hey” Meredith says, smiling, as she peaks in the open door to Hayes’ office.

“Glad you decided to finally join me” Cormac says with a smirk as he stands up from behind his desk, walking towards her and beckoning towards the couch. 

Meredith simultaneously rolls her eyes and smiles at him saying “I apologise profusely if I bruised your ego.”

“My ego is big enough to know you were always going to turn up, what person would turn down a glass of whisky and my company while they finish their paperwork” Cormac counters. 

“Where is this glass of whisky you keep promising?” Meredith says jokingly as she settles herself on the couch, leaving room for Cormac to join her. 

“How inconsiderate of me” he says with a grin as he unlocks the drawer of his desk, taking out a bottle of whisky and two glasses. 

He picks up his tablet and carries it over to the couch along with the bottle and glasses. Pouring two generous glasses of the amber liquid he hands one to Meredith as he seats himself beside her. 

“Cheers” she says as she raises her glass to his and they clink, making eye contact. Their eyes remain locked as they each take a sip from their cup. 

Smiling at Meredith, Cormac says “it’s scheduling day, so settle in” as he takes off his shoes and opens his tablet.

“More time together” she says with a small smile as she bends over her work, checking over the charts from that week. 

Cormac smiles as he watches Meredith work, her hair falling over her shoulders and a happy but determined look on her face. He continues to debate in his mind the thoughts that have been going round and round his thoughts since their conversation that morning. He picks up his tablet and gets to. Work, continuing to steal glances at Meredith as she works, not noticing her doing the same. 

Meredith is in awe of the man beside her, the angle of his jaw and the softness of his eyes as he works on his paperwork keep her mesmerised. 

Half an hour later they both glance up at the same time and make eye contact, smiling nervously. Cormac decides to speak up. 

“So, you know that I don’t like to guess what people want to hear, I prefer to give them all the information and let them figure out what they do with it, I do hope you like hearing this. I’ve been thinking it for a while, but I haven’t wanted to say anything because I don’t want to hurt the friendship we have, your friendship has grounded me in Seattle and our Friday charting is the highlight of my week, but there really is no way to know what will happen without putting it out there. So, I’m going to say this, I really like you, and I hope you feel the same way. Do you want to go out to dinner with me?” He asks, his nervousness apparent in the fiddling of his hands.

Meredith places her hands on his asking in a quiet but hopeful voice “Are you asking me one a date, Cormac Hayes?”

His nerves lift slightly and he smiles at her, replying “Yes I am. Will you go on a date with me, Meredith Grey?” 

She meets his gaze with a grin saying, “I would love to!” 

He laces their fingers together as they hold their eye contact, smiles covering their faces as they both think how they will remember this moment forever.

Eventually Meredith brakes the eye contact, keeping one of her hands interlaced with one of Cormac’s she moves herself so she is sitting right beside him, and opens the schedule she is working on. “So, what day next week?” she asks, finally breaking the comfortable silence. 

“Can you do Tuesday night? Liam is going to a party on Friday and I want to be available to pick him up at any point and I don’t want to dash out on you” Cormac answers.

“Maggie always finishes early on a Tuesday and takes my kids on some adventure, I'm sure she can keep watching them in the evening. Um, can we meet at the restaurant? It isn’t that I'm ashamed or anything, but my sisters are very observant, and they love to speculate and chat and I'm not ready for that, I hope you don’t mind” Meredith says nervously, looking at Cormac for confirmation.

“I totally agree, this hospital loves to gossip. I think they have already gossiped a bit much about us, before anything has even happened” Cormac says with a slight laugh. 

Meredith squeezes his hand “I'm glad you agree. They are my family but I care so much about you and whatever this is that I want to keep it between us as it grows, this is about us, not the bets and interference of our friends and family.” 

They sit together for another twenty minutes, just holding hands and basking in the happiness and calm of finally sharing their feelings, until Meredith looks at the time. “Ellis is going to sleep soon, and I like to be there if I can, I need to head off. I have the next two days off, but I will call!” Meredith says as she slowly stands up, holding hands for as long as she can before the contact is broken. Already her hand feels empty and she realises how perfect Cormac’s hand feels in hers. 

“Children come first, and Ellis does love her bedtime stories!” Cormac says in understanding, smiling at Meredith and cherishing the lingering feeling of her hand in his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! I wanted to make this moment special and touching but also adult. For me, Mer and Cormac are not all about the passion but more about their growing feelings, connection, mutual respect and attraction. I hope you enjoyed! Thanks to everyone who has commented, your kind words make my day! xx


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry it has taken me longer to update. My uni year started on Monday and my life has been hectic between moving back to Melbourne and starting classes. It is always an adjustment getting back into the academic schedule and after the restrictions of last year my friends and I are spending a lot of time making the most of the relative freedom we have before the next cases happen. Anyways, this is all to say that I will probably only be able to update once or twice a week for the rest of the semester. Thank you for your patience!

Amelia getting in her car to drive to the hospital Saturday morning when her phone rings:

UNKNOWN NUMBER

Switzerland

The screen reads, confused, she answers “Hello?”

“Amelia? This is Cristina, Yang” Cristina’s voice comes through the phone and Amelia’s confusion grows.

“Hey Cristina, what can I do for you? Meredith isn’t with me if you are trying to reach her.” Amelia says as she closes her car door and connects her phone to the Bluetooth. 

“No, I'm was hoping to speak to you, it’s about Meredith, do you have time to chat?” Cristina says as she sits down at her desk. 

“Yeah, I’m driving to work so go ahead” Amelia says as she pulls out of the driveway.

“This may seem lout of the blue but I am wondering what you think of Cormac Hayes, I heard you told Zola he gets her mother so I'm assuming good things?” Cristina says cutting to the chase.

“He is, and you should see the two of them, always paging the other instead of just general peds or general surgeons. They think we don’t notice but the chemistry is obvious, and we aren’t oblivious to the time they spend together. I wish they would just go ahead and get together already! I mean EVERYONE can see that they are into each other, they are just idiots who ignore it” Amelia starts ranting.

“That’s where you come in!” Cristina cuts Amelia off, “I have a team of operatives in Seattle and I am wondering if I can recruit you.” 

“Seriously? This is priceless. Does Meredith know?” Amelia asks, laughing.

“No, you can’t tell her. She only knows that I sent Hayes to Seattle as a gift, but she can’t know any more!” Cristina says adamantly.

“I totally agree, she and Riggs started as a fling, and as much as she may have cared for Deluca, it was never fully serious for her. This will be her first truly serious, looking to the future, relationship since Derek so they need to feel like it is theirs, not some creation by their friends and family” Amelia says passionately. 

“You get her, I'm glad she has someone in Seattle” Cristina says sincerely, breaking her stoic façade for a minute. 

The two women continue to talk until Amelia arrives at the hospital, creating their plans for operation McWidows as Cristina calls it. 

********* *

Meredith is woken Saturday morning by a loud giggling then her door flying open and Ellis launching herself onto the bed, landing on top of her. 

“Mammy, mammy, wake up!” Ellis says excitedly as she bounces up and down on top of Meredith.

Meredith smiles at her daughter, inwardly lamenting the lack of sleep that she had gotten after spending half the night thinking about her conversation with Cormac.

“Good morning to you too” Meredith says, rolling over and swinging her feet out of bed. 

“I’m going to have a shower then we can have breakfast and go to the park” she adds as she makes her way into the ensuite, turning on the shower and humming to herself. 

Today is a very good day she thinks as the scalding water hits her skin, easing the tension that builds in her muscles through the week. She gets to spend it with her kids, taking Ellis to the park in the morning then Bailey to his soccer game in the afternoon. 

Meredith quickly finishes washing her hair and steps out of the shower. She dresses casually in a burgundy sweater and jeans, tying her hair back in a messy ponytail. Entering the kitchen, she smiles at the sight of her three children sitting at the island, colouring together.

“Ellis, not that colour, the sky is blue, not red” Zola says as Meredith walks in.

Ellis continues to colour her red sky and Zola huffs in frustration, “who wants to help me make breakfast?” Meredith says, trying to diffuse the tension before it builds any further, “I’m making fruit salad and toast.”

By the time Meredith has chopped up the fruit, with Ellis’ enthusiastic help, and toasted and buttered some bread; the little family is all laughing and joking, past tensions forgotten.

“Can I have jam and Nutella together on my toast, please” Bailey says with puppy dog eyes.

Meredith laughs internally before answering her son, “How about you do one on each half?” Meredith says, thinking ahead to the sugar high that will come if she isn’t careful. 

“Can I make it into a sandwich” Bailey asks hopefully.

This time Meredith chuckles as she answers “yes, you can make it into a sandwich”, smiling 

as Bailey gleefully folds his bread in half and takes a huge bite. 

******* *

“Hey Ma” Cormac says as he answers his phone early Saturday morning. 

“Hi Cormac, how are you and those grandsons of mine doing?” She answers in her rich honeyed voice. 

“We’re good, I am making breakfast before my shift starts so you are on speaker in the kitchen. It’s a weekend so the boys aren’t up yet.” He says as he puts the phone down and flips the pancake in the pan in front of him.

“You work too much, it’s a weekend, you should be spending it with your family!”

“Ma, I need to work, I'm head of my department, and weekends are busy for peds because of all the weekend sporting injuries. I do have next weekend off; Meredith is supervising my department for me so I can watch the soccer final the boys are playing in.” He says as he adds the pancake from the pan onto the growing stack in the warming tray of the oven. 

“Meredith” his mom says, her voice perking up.

“Dr Grey, the chief of general surgery. I watched her kids for her and when I mentioned that I was missing the final she offered to cover for me.” He says, as he starts chopping some fruit as a new pancake cooks.

“That is very kind of her, her husband is able to watch the kids I guess?” his mother digs.

“Mom!” he laughs, catching on. 

“What, I wouldn’t want her kids to have to be with a babysitter just so you can play with yours. I presume they are young if she asked you to watch them” His mother says indignantly. 

“Her sister is taking them to the zoo with her son, it isn’t too much for her to cover for me. And we’re both surgeons, we are addicted to our jobs!” Cormac says, trying to rationalise his acceptance of Meredith’s offer. 

“You two much be good friends if she would offer to work instead of spending time with her kids” His mother continues to needle. 

“Ma, stop” he says with a chuckle as he chops a passionfruit. 

“I’m just trying to get to know your friend, you haven’t mentioned any other people and I want to know about your life” she says innocently.

“If you say so” he replies sceptically. “How about I tell you about what Liam and Austen have been doing. They are both playing soccer on the same team for school. Liam has chosen his subjects for year 11. He is taking science, philosophy and psychology subjects and loving them!” Cormac says as he serves himself a plate with pancakes and fruit, leaving the rest of the pancakes in the warming tray for his boys when they wake and putting the extra fruit in the fridge. 

Cormac continues to chat with his mother as he eats his breakfast, filling her in on the updates in his boys’ lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! Thanks to everyone who has commented! Let me know what you think! I'm hoping to update again soon, so fingers crossed i have some free time. xx


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